TUBE AND TfL union RMT today released new information which exposes the full extent of the first wave of cuts under Boris Johnson’s £5 billion tube savings programme with 144 station ticket offices and 1200 jobs under threat of the axe.

According to the RMT, the leaked document states that:

Main stations ticket offices will remain open

Smaller central stations ticket offices will open only at peak times and at key locations

All other stations will have ticket machines only.

However, Boris and TfL insisted today that no decisions have yet been made.

"no decision has been taken to do any such thing” and said it was important to ensure “every single London Underground is properly staffed” but appeared to question “whether you need to have someone behind the glass at all times”.

Obviously money is tight and it wouldn't be surprising if at least some partial closures were on their way.

But with most of those closures likely to take place within the boroughs that voted him in, Boris needs to be very careful just how far he goes.

The first is that there is genuinely no actual ideological content to Boris's Mayoralty and it's just a cynical exercise in pleasing enough of the people enough of the time to get through it with his CV enhanced.

The second is a belief he has that consistency is something to be actively avoided as it implies dour, humourless, dull adherence to principles rather than fun, cavalier, make-it-up-as-you-go-along edge-of-the-pants stuff. I suspect a low boredom threshold may contribute to that. Most people like that just go bungee jumping at Victoria Falls or climb Kilimanjaro, though, not become Chairman of TfL.